President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in St Petersburg for the 2nd Africa Russia Summit. He is among some 16 African leaders who have descended on Russia for the event.
Images Courtesy of GCIS
The Summit’s aim is to strengthen relations between Russia and Africa. This goal however may be out of reach for embattled Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with fewer than 30% of African leaders attending.
According to International Relations Minister, Naledi Pandor, the summit will focus on the future of technology and aerospace sciences.
If President Putin was hoping for a show of force from his African counterparts, he will likely be disappointed, as the recent collapse of the Black- Sea grain deal has raised food security concerns across large parts of Africa and left the continent’s leadership frustrated.
The Black Sea Grain Deal was an arrangement brokered through the UN, allowing for grain and other products to be exported through Ukraine and across the Black Sea to a range of countries, many of them in Africa.
In response, Putin has offered to remedy the situation, saying his country can replace the lost grain.
“In the coming months, we will be ready to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Eritrea with 25,000-50,000 tonnes of grain free of charge,” Putin announced on Thursday
The Summit’s outcomes are expected to affect those of next month’s BRICS Leaders’ Summit in South Africa, which Putin has announced he will not be attending.
